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pinkkpearls

Hardy Geranium help..

pinkkpearls
9 years ago

I am new to gardening in z8b Texas. I had a question about my hardy geranium. I purchased them online, they were shipped in peat moss and had a few sprouts when I got them. I put them in the fridge for about 2 weeks before I planted them. They had about 6 inch very thick roots on them and there was about a 1 inch piece of bark on top. Either way, planted them like 2 weeks ago and they have already sprouted. They are supposed to be planted in Fall to bloom in Spring. Obviously, the frost will kill the growth, but is that okay? Will it rebloom in the Spring?

Comments (7)

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    9 years ago

    In your zone, hardy perennial geraniums should sail through the winter....some varieties will even retain foliage through the winter. And most species and cultivars will bloom in summer, not spring.

    What kind do you have?

  • pinkkpearls
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Unfortunately Gardengal48 I am not sure. When i contacted Brecks I was told that it was a super sak ( a bag of 20 plant roots having a number of different varieties and colors) but it would have 3 or more plantings of Cinereum Ballerina, Sanguineum Album, Johnson's Blue, Patricia, Ann Folkhard, or Karmina. Does this help? I know it will be only these varieties though.

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    9 years ago

    Those varieties vary quite a bit in size so it would be worth trying to sort out the different types by eye, even if you don't know their names yet. Once they flower the Name that Plant Forum can help you. I'm not quite clear about why they were put in the fridge. You can plant them straight away and, as Gardengal48 said, winter will not faze them.

  • pinkkpearls
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The bag said it could be fridged for 2 weeks if you couldn't plant them straight away:/

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    9 years ago

    Interesting - not a technique I've come across with hardy perennials. Maybe it's not needed over here. I'd have thought it would do more harm than good shutting them in the dark and cold when they want to grow. Maybe it would be a good idea in the winter when they're dormant. Anyway yours seem to have survived and are growing. Gardengal48 - can you throw more light on this technique for me?

  • pinkkpearls
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    If it helps, they were purchased from Brecks. I just wanted to be sure they'd be ok bc they really have taken off and I've never grown geranium.

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    9 years ago

    floral, it's a new one on me as well! But then I am not inclined to do much mail order at all (I can get virtually anything I want locally), so have limited experience with how they package things. I also would have thought that this would be a technique more typically used in winter when the plants were dormant than now......my hardy geraniums are still growing and flowering.

    I'm also not a big fan of the grab bag method of bundling various cultivars together........but that's a personal thing. I want to know what I have or better yet, pick and choose what I get. But can understand using this if a large area to plant, or new to cranesbills and working on a budget.

    pp, you're going to enjoy these plants. In my tiny garden now I only have a couple of varieties but in my old garden, I grew a couple dozen varieties and found them to be very useful, long blooming and pretty much trouble-free plants.

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